The Indian foreign ministry says India and Pakistan will hold the first meeting of a joint anti-terrorism panel in March.

The talks will be held in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, on March 6.

The idea for the panel was first proposed last year during a meeting in Cuba between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

The initiative was created after deadly train bombings in Mumbai in July. India claimed Pakistan's top intelligence agency (ISI) played a role in the attack, a charged denied by Pakistan.

Efforts to improve relations between India and Pakistan began with a peace process in 2004. The two countries have fought three wars and have yet to resolve their dispute over the region of Kashmir, where an anti-India insurgency has killed tens of thousands since 1989.